Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/70)

Section
His Commission as a Messenger and the First Revelation He Received

Allah commissioned him at the age of forty, the age of full maturity. It is said that messengers are commissioned at this age. As for the claim that Jesus was raised to heaven at the age of thirty-three, no report with a connected chain of transmission is known that would require us to accept it (1).

The first signs of prophethood granted to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—were dreams: every dream he saw came true as clearly as daybreak. It is said that this lasted six months, while his prophethood lasted twenty-three years. These dreams therefore constituted one forty-sixth of his prophethood (2). Allah knows best.

Then Allah, glorified is He, honoured him with prophethood. The angel came to him in the cave of Hirā’, where he loved to spend time in seclusion. The first revelation he received was:

“Read in the name of your Lord who created.” [al-‘Alaq: 1]

This is the view of ‘Ā’ishah (3) and the majority. Jābir, however, said that the first revelation he received was:

“Merciful (20)” [al-Muddaththir: 1] (4).

The correct view is that of ‘Ā’ishah, for several reasons:

(1) Reported as a statement of Ibn ‘Abbās by al-Tabarānī in al-Awsat (6829) and al-Khatīb in al-Jāmi‘ li-akhlāq al-rāwī, al-Risāla edition (723). Al-Tabarānī’s chain includes Sadaqa ibn Yazīd al-Khurāsānī, a weak narrator classified as munkar al-hadīth (a transmitter of rejected reports). Al-Khatīb’s chain includes Ya‘lā ibn ‘Ubayd, whose narrations from al-Thawrī show some weakness; this is one of them. (2) “Minhā (of it)” is omitted in manuscripts ك, ع, مب, ن. (3) Its sources were previously cited (p. 63). It forms part of the hadith: “Every dream he saw came true as clearly as daybreak.” (4) Reported by al-Bukhārī (4922) and Muslim (161).

فصل في مبعثه وأول ما أُنزِل عليه بعثه الله على رأس أربعين، وهي سنُّ الكمال. قيل: ولها تبعث الرسل. وأما ما يُذكر عن المسيح أنه رُفِع إلى السماء وله ثلاث وثلاثون سنةً، فهذا لا يُعرَف به أثرٌ متصلٌ يجب المصير إليه (١). وأول ما بدئ به رسول الله ﷺ من أمر النبوة: الرؤيا، فكان لا يرى رؤيا إلا جاءت مثل فَلَق الصبح. قيل: وكان ذلك ستة أشهر، ومدة النبوة ثلاث وعشرون سنةً، فهذه الرؤيا منها (٢) جزء من ستة وأربعين جزءًا. والله أعلم. ثم أكرمه الله سبحانه بالنبوة، فجاءه الملك وهو بغار حراء، وكان يُحِبُّ الخلوة فيه، فأول ما أنزل عليه ﴿اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ﴾ [العلق: ١] هذا قول عائشة (٣) والجمهور. وقال جابر: أول ما أنزل عليه ﴿رَحِيمٌ (٢٠)﴾ [المدثر: ١] (٤). والصحيح قول عائشة لوجوه:

(١) أخرجه الطبراني في «الأوسط» (٦٨٢٩) والخطيب في «الجامع لأخلاق الراوي» ط. الرسالة (٧٢٣) من قول ابن عباس. وفي طريق الطبراني صدقة بن يزيد الخراساني ضعيف منكر الحديث، وفي طريق الخطيب يعلى بن عبيد، روايته عن الثوري فيها لين، وهذه منها. (٢) «منها» ساقط من ك، ع، مب، ن. (٣) تقدم تخريجه (ص ٦٣)، وهو ضمن حديث: «كان لا يرى رؤيا إلا جاءت مثل فلق الصبح». (٤) أخرجه البخاري (٤٩٢٢) ومسلم (١٦١).